Fire-proof building



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

J. H. WALKER. Fire Proof Building.

No. 236,384. Patented'la'h. 4,1881.

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2 She-ets-Sh'et 2. J. H. WALKER. Fire Proof Building.

Patented Jan. 4,1881.

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JOSEPH H. \VALKER, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

FIRE-PROOF BUILDING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 236,384, dated January 4., 1881.

Application filed May 9, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH H. WALKER, of the city and county of Worcester, and Commonwealth 0t Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Proof Buildings; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents a front elevation of an iron-front building having my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 represents a horizontal section through the building on line A B, showing aplan view of the roof. Fig. 3 represents, upon an enlarged scale, a horizontal section through the front of the building on line B C, Fig. 1. Fig. 4. represents a side view of the building with the cornice and outside section of the wall removed, that my improvement may be shown more clearly. Fig. 5 represents a vertical transverse section through the building on lines 0 I), looking in the direction of arrow 1, Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings. Fig. 6 represents a view of the rear or back side of the iron front of my improved fire-proof building with my improvements applied thereto. Figs. 7 and 8 represent, upon an enlarged scale, vertical sections through the iron front on lines E F and G H, respectively, Fig. 6, looking in the direction of arrow 2 of the same figure; and Figs. 9 and 10 represent, upon an enlarged scale, portions of the building hereinafter more fully described.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention belongs to make and use the same, 1 will proceed to describe it more in detail.

In the drawings, the part marked A represents the iron front of the building. B represents the inner section of the walls, and O the outer section of the same.

The spaces or chambers D between the walls B and O are water or steam chambers, which may be connected around three sides of the building, as represented in Fig. 2 of the drawings, or disconnected at the corners, or at shorter intervals, as desired. In chambers D are arranged three troughs, E, extending around to-the extreme limits of said chambers. More or less of these troughs may be used, according to the height of the building. Said troughs are supplied with water through a pipe, F, connected with the water-main, and which extends up through the building and above the roof, as shown by full and dotted lines. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings.

The roof of the building is divided by means of a piece, G, into two reservoirs, H and I, and

provided with a regulating device, J, (shown in full and dotted lines, Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings,) and by the operation of which simply the roof or the whole building can be flooded with water at will. The roof, it will be understood, must be made thoroughly water-tight by tinning or some other means, and chambers D, by means of plaster, cement, or other suitable materials, can be made sufficiently water-tight.

If no great danger is apprehended,and only the roof is required to be protected from fire, the deviceJ is left thrown back, as represented in Fig. 2, thus allowing-the water, after-it has been let on by turning stop-cock a, Figs. 3 and 4, to spread over the part El, Fig. 2, of the roof, and then flow through, first, the opening bin piece G into the part I, thence through another opening or conductor, 0, to the ground butin case of alarge fire, and great danger is apprehended, it is necessary to carry water over the whole building, which is done in the following manner: Openings 1) and care first closed by pulling a wire or rope, d, connected with the device J at the point e, which draws the parts ff into said openings, thus making the roof water-tight. The water is then let on by turning stop-cock a, allowing it to flow into reservoir H, which fills, flooding that portion of the roof. It then runs over the top of piece G into reservoir I, which, having been filled, it overflows and runs through an opening, g, into the upper trough, E, which is laid nearly level, that it may till entirely around the length of the trough. The water then passes down through opening h, Fig. 2, thence through a conductor, t, Fig. 3, into the next trough, which inclines slightly downward from the point 1 to the point 2, Fig. 2, thus allowing the water to run freely through the trough and through conductor 70, Fig. 4, into the next trough below it, and so on through each succeeding trough, when it is then carried through a discharge-pipe, K, to the ground or into the sewer.

At the upper end of each trough the bottom I is raised nearly to the top of the trough for a short distance from the end, and through this raised partahole,0, Fig. 9, is made, connecting by a compound conductor, 2', the next trough beneath it, and serves as an overflow-pipe, carrying the water into the next trough beneath it, instead of allowing it to run over the top of the former. The pipe from thelower trough atthis point also has a discharge-pipe, and carries the water to the ground or into the sewer in the same manner as pipe K at the other end of the troughs.

For the purpose of tying the walls B and 0 together where the troughs E come, I have provided rods 19, passed through the upper part of the troughs and into the walls each side, as represented in Figs. 2, 4, 5, 9, and 10 of the drawings. Such tying devices may be of any suitable shape and size which will serve the purpose for which they are used, and in localities where the walls are liable to settle it may be well to have the tubesin the troughs through which the ties are passed of such size that the settling of the walls will not cause the ties to press against the sides of said tubes and the troughs through which they pass.

As the walls of the building become heated by the burning of an adjoining building the water in troughs E of necessity also becomes heated, thus generating and filling chambers D with steam, which passes through holes m in walls B into the inside of the building, thus effectually protecting that as well as the walls of the building.

The partsL are pieces of wood or other material, arranged upon rods n so as to overlap each other, for the purpose of keeping the troughs cleartrom mortar, pieces of brick, and other rubbish during the construction of the building.

The iron front A of the building is made hollow in this instance, and divided at the points 3 into three sections, M, M, and D which are filled with water by means of a supply-pipe, N, provided with a stopcock, N.

The upper section, M, is filled direct from pipe N at the point 4, while sections M and M are filled through branch pipes 9, connected to the same. During the time that the front is required to be protected from fire stop-cock 5 on discharge-pipe 0, Fig. 8, is kept closed, thereby allowing the chambers M, M, and M to become filled with water. The upper parts of said chambers are provided with holes or outlets 6, so that when they become filled from supply-pipe N the surplus water and what steam is generated passes out of these openings. The fire having been put out, and no further danger apprehended, stop-cock 5 is then turned, when the water is discharged from the chambers upon the ground or into the sewerthat in the chamber M directly into said pipe at the point 7, and that in the chambers M and M, through their respective branch pipes 8 8, into pipe 0, and then out, as before explained.

P and Q are hollow shutters, but open at the top, a section of one of the shutters, P, being shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, all the openings Rand S being protected by shutters in a like manner, and supplied with water through supply-pipes T and U, provided with outlets 9, arranged directly over the opening in the tops of the hollow sections of shutters P and Q. The outer side of each hollow section of shutter extends up a little above the inner side, as shown at a, Fig. 6, which causes the water to run down upon the inside of the shutter when the overflow takes place. When the shutters become filled it will be seen that by the above arrangement the surplus water runs over the top and down upon the sills below, thereby keeping the window sill, jamb, and outside of the front constantly wet. The bottoms of all the shutters are provided with cocks, so that they can be emptied when desired.

The openings for the windows should be surrounded by a close-fitting iron frame, 10, (shown in Fig. 5 and all the chambers in the iron front made, by preference, water-tigl'it.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that by my invention a fire-proof building can be constructed, and that, too, with but comparatively little extra expense over and above the common and ordinary modes of constructing buildings from corresponding materials.

The stop-cock may be arranged so that in case of fire a policeman, watchman, or other person discovering the same can quickly turn on the water from the outside of the building, and in a very short time render any number of buildings constructed in this way fire-proof.

To prevent injury to the conductors 2', which convey the water from one trough to the other by the expansion and contraction of the con ductors, they are made in two sections, "0' and '5, the upper and smallerparts, i, being secured to the under raised bottoms of their respective troughs, as indicated in Fig. 10, and extending down and loosely into the open upper ends of the larger parts 2', thus forming loose joints, which allow the parts z'to expand and contract without injury.

In very cold climates it may be well to provide each trough with a small direct outlet covered with a screen or network, so that as soon as the water is shut oft" each trough will empty itselt'independentlyot'each other, thereby preventing the water from freezing in the troughs, which might happen under unfavorable circumstances, if the water had to run the whole distance through one and then an other, from the top to the bottom of the side or end of a building before being discharged.

In making the shutters, each half may be made from hollow sections P P and hinged together, or each halfmay be made in a single hollow section, Q, Fig. 5. I prefer to make them of hollow sections P P, Fig. 3, when they are used to protect glass fronts of build- IIO ings; but for ordinary windows the other form may answer the purpose, and, for many reasons, would be preferable.

It will be observed that by my mode of constructing fire-proof buildings, in case of a scarcity or want of water, steam from a boiler may be let on and forced through the hollow passages and chambers in the walls, front, and shutters ot' the building, and thence through the interior of the building, thereby not only protecting the building from fire without, but also from fire within, the building.

When steam or any other fire-extinguishing vapor, gas, or compound is used, however, in the manner and for the purpose above described, it may be more effective to introduce the same into the walls and interior of the building through the water-discharging pipes; and it will further be observed that the arrangement for distributing the steam through the walls and interior of the building is so perfect and convenient that in case of fire within the building a steam fire-engine may v F often do more effective work by discharging its steam direct into the building, as above described, thereby extinguishing the tire, than by using it to throw water upon the fire, as is the practice at the present time.

It will be further understood that my invention is equally applicable to buildings all sides of which are composed of iron.

Having described my improvements in fireproof buildings, what I claim therein as new and of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A hollow swinging window-shutter for protecting buildings from fire, formed of an inner plate of suitable length to close the window and an outer plate extending above said inner plate, with openings between them on the top of said shutter, in combination with a water-pipe located above said openings and controlled by stop-cocks, as and for the purpose described.

2. The combination of the chambers D and inclosed troughs E, having discharge-openin gs above the bottom thereof, with compound conductors t' i, for the purposes stated.

3. The combination, with the walls of a building, of water-troughs E, provided with tubes or openings for the passage of the stay or tie irons 19, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the chambered walls of a building, of the Water-trough-protectin g slats or devices a, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOSEPH H. WVALKER.

W'itnesses:

THos. H. DODGE, EDWIN E. MOORE. 

